Tales of a Stitcher

Post navigation

The Quilt SHOW!

Last August, I taped several segments with Alex Anderson and Ricki Tims for The Quilt Show. On Sunday, April 8th, my segments will go live on their website. Can you believe it?

Here is what happened to get that show from an idea to a reality.

Ricky and Alex attend the International Quilt Festival every year looking for fresh talent. They check the rooster of teachers and exhibitors searching for new faces to share with their viewers, and I was lucky enough to be noticed.

Then Lilo—the behind the scenes get’er done lady for the show—emailed me and asked if I wanted to do a short interview with Ricky while I was in Houston for festival.I say I would be delighted to talk to Ricky.

We then scheduled a date and time, and I showed up with a suitcase full of quilts and a bird’s nest in my hair and talked to Ricky with the camera rolling. Seriously, there is a bird’s nest in my hair. You can see it for yourself here.

That went well enough that they invited you to Denver to tape a few segments for The Quilt Show. I said yes to that too.

My good friend Daron Howard lives in Denver with his partner Edgar. This is us celebrating after spending the day at the studio with Alex and Ricky. Daron and I have been friends since we were ten. We were both photographers for the high school yearbook. He was the teacher’s pet, I was not.

Daron was my sherpa the entire weekend. He was awesome, and he is the reason I have such great photos of the entire event.

After Daron picked me up at the airport, we drove to the studio where The Quilt Show is taped. Lilo and I spent a bit of time selecting the quilts that would be displayed during the show.

We went over the logistic of the show. Who-What-When-Where-and Why.

I discovered I need to put a hanging sleeve on one of my quilts and Lilo let me dig through the on-set fabric stash, and I scored a beautiful Ricky Tims hand dyed fabric for the sleeve.

Back at Daron and Edgar’s place. I used Edgar’s sewing machine to stitch a hanging sleeve while Riley chilled on the backyard deck. August is pretty amazing in Denver.

The next day, we headed back to the studio.

Nothing says this is the real deal like a live studio audience.

There are dozens of photos of me with my hands in the air and my eyes closed.

I had meetings with Alex and Ricky and the producer to make sure I understood what was going to happen in each segment. At the same time, they are covering the studio in my quilts.

Meanwhile Daron is free range—taking photos of everything.

There was a point where I really started to panic—you know, stage fright. I feel like this photo captures it. I might just implode.

Fortunately, it did not last long. I figured it out—just follow Ricky and Alex’s lead. They know what they are doing.

We taped three segments.

One is about bit making.

One is about how to build a community quilt with participants who do not know how to sew.

And one is about stitching in my off-th- grid studio in McCarthy, Alaska.

Maria, it’s Becki. I forgot to show you what I ended up making. I’ll be back home by Monday evening, so unfortunately I’ll miss the lecture. I also didn’t get around to signing in your “newsletter” book. My bad. Thanks much for a great workshop today! When you remember your friends married name, let me know what town she lives in. I’m in mountain ranch,, ca. Best, ~b

Christine–Thank you for saying that and for buying my book. I am traveling right now, but I will mail it as soon as I am home. I am too nervous t watch it, but it is good to know that you liked it. Thank you!